Flower holder



FLOWER HOLDER an. E. Wheelock, rose/2 Oak St., Beloit, Wis. Filed Mar.24, 1958, Ser. No. 723,205 Claims. or. 47-41 This invention relates to adevice for supporting flowers and the like in a vase.

An important object of this invention is to provide a flower holderwhich is adjustable in size and shape to enable me of the same in vasesof difierent size and configuration.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a fiowerholderwhich is formed of hexagonal mesh wire and which is shaped and arrangedso as to enable axial and radial expansion or contraction of the samefor use in different size vases, and in which the ends of the hexagonalmesh wire are protectively enclosed to avoid injury to the user.

A further object of this invention is to provide a flower holder whichcan be economically fabricated and which is simple and efficient in use.

These, together with various ancillary objects and advantages of thisinvention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description when takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional viewv through a flower holderconstructed in accordance with the present invention and shown mountedin a vase;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the flower holder and vase;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a piece of the wire meshemployed in the flower holder, and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view on a reduced scale of a modified formof vase and illustrating the flower holder reshaped to conform to thevase of Fig. 4.

The flower holder of the present invention is primarily adapted for usewith relatively long stemmed flowers and the like to provide supporttherefor at two spaced points along the stem. In general, the flowerholder comprises an enclosed body or cage 9 formed of hexagonal wiremesh and which is constructed and arranged so as to enable the same tobe radially and axially expanded or contracted or reshaped for use indifferent vases. It is an important feature of the present inventionthat the flower holder can'be reshaped by hand for use in either tall orshallow vases, and also in vases which are circular, rectangular oroblong in configuration.

The flower holder is formed from a generally rectangular section ofhexagonal wire mesh having a mesh size preferably of the order of oneinch. As is conventional,

such hexagonal wire mesh, as woven, includes transverse rows of entwinedwire portions herein designated 10a- 10g inclusive, with the entwinedwire portions in each row staggered with respect to the entwined wireportions in the adjacent rows and interconnected by diagonally extendingwire portions 11. Preferably, the section of hexagonal wire mesh is cutso that one row, designated 10a, of the entwined wire portions isdisposed at one end of the section and another row, herein designated10g, is disposed at the other end of the section. The side edges tics.atcnt j extending wire portions along at least one edge of thesection ofwire mesh could be cut at a point spaced outwardly from the entwinedwire portions at that side to thereby provide a tie wire or clamp whichis integral with the section of wire mesh. The end portions of therolled section are arched inwardly toward the axis thereof, the rows 10aand 10g of entwined wire portions at each end of the body convergingrelative to each other and terminating with their inner ends spacedradially outwardly from the axis of the rolled section to define anenclosed wire mesh body or cage 9.

In accordance with the present invention, the radially inner ends of therows of entwined wire portions 10a and 10g are rigidly secured togetherto prevent distention of the ends of the body when the central portionthereof is radially expanded or contracted. In addition, the ends of theentwined wire portions are protectively enclosed to prevent injury tothe user. Preferably, the ends of the rows of entwined wire portions 10aand 10g are attached to an annular member, to provide an axial openingin the body for the reception of the stems of flowers and the like. Asherein shown a clamp ring consisting of a grommet 13 and washer 14 isprovided at each end of the body. The inner ends of the rows oferitwinedportions Ida and 10g are interposed between the respective washer andgrommet and the grommet thereafter crirnped over in the form of a roll13a on top of the washer to firmly clamp the ends of the entwined wireportions therebetween. In order to facilitate assembly of the grommetand washer at each end of the mesh body or cage, the longitudinal scamin the mesh body is preferably left open for the reception of an anvil(not shown) for supporting the grommet during the crimping'operation.The'longitudinal scam in the body is thereafter secured together by theaforementioned bands 12.

As illustrated herein, the enclosed mesh body is generally cylindricalin configuration with inwardly curved ends and as such is specificallyshaped for use in a relatively tall vase 15, as shown in Figures 1 and2. The flower holder is relatively light in weight and in order toproperly support the flowers in the vase, the holder is preferablyarranged to engage the sides of the vase at least at spaced pointstherearound to prevent movement of the holder Within the vase. This canconveniently be achieved by inserting the holder into the vase and thenpressing on the end of the holder to thereby radially expand the samesuflicient to provide relatively firm contact between the holder andvase.

The disclosed flower holder can also be formed into different shapes,either when initially fabricating the same or in subsequent use thereof.Since the ends of the mesh body are constrained against distention andas the body is formed of deformable and expansible hexagonal mesh wire,the body can be radially and axially expanded or contracted to formdifferent shapes. For example, the body 9 of Figure 1 can be axiallycompressed as shown in Fig. 4 and radially expanded for use inrelatively shallow vases. Moreover, if the vase is oblong or square inconfiguration, the flower holder can be reshaped to an oblong or squareconfiguration to conform to the vase. For very large receptacles, aplurality of the wire mesh flower holders may be provided and disposedin end to end relation in tall vases or nested side-by-side' relation inrelatively shallow vases. Although the flower holder is adaptable tovarious different sizes and shapes, it is contemplated that the holderbe made in several different sizes for use in very small as well as verylarge vases or receptacles.

I claim:

1. An adjustable flower holder for use in vessels of difierent size andshape comprising, a piece of hexagonal mesh wire shaped in the form of atube having the end portions arched inwardly toward the axis of the tubeto substantially close the ends of the tube and define a hollow meshbody adapted to support flower stems extended therethrough, said piecebeing formed of a. deformable Wire which can be readily bent by hand,and means rigidly securing the ends of the inwardly'extending endportions together to prevent distention ofthe ends of the body when thecentral portion thereof is radially expanded or contracted to therebyenable shaping of the body for use in different vessels.

2. An adjustable flower holder for use in vessels of different size andshape comprising, a piece of hexagonal mesh wire shaped in the form of atube having the end portions arched inwardly toward the axis of the tubeto substantially close the ends of the tube and define a hollow meshbody adapted to support flower stems extended therethrough, said piecehaving the side edges secured together and being formed of a deformablewire which can be readily bent by hand, and an annular member secured tothe inwardly extending end portions at each end of the body and having adiameter which is small as compared to that of the body to define acentral opening and to prevent distention of the ends of the body whenthe central portion thereof is radially expanded or contracted tothereby enable shaping of the body for use in different vessels.

3. An adjustable flower holder for use in vessels of different size andshape comprising a piece of hexagonal mesh wire having a plurality ofrows of entwined wire portions, the entwined wire portions in each rowbeing staggered with respect to the entwined portions of adjacent rowsand interconnected therewith by diagonally extending wire portions, thepiece being shaped in the form of a tube having the end portions archedinwardly toward the axis of the tube to substantially close the endsthereof and define a hollow mesh body, the body having one of said rowsof entwined wire portions adjacent each end and the entwined portions inthe end rows extending generally radially inwardly toward the axis ofthe body, said piece being formed of a deformable wire which can bereadily bent by hand, and means rigidly securing the inwardly extendingentwined portions at each end of the body together to prevent distentionof the ends of the body when the central portion is expanded orcontracted for fitting into the vessel, said body being adapted toradially expand when the pressure is applied to the ends thereof tofacilitate fitting of the holder snugly in the vessel.

4. An adjustable flower holder for use in vessels of different size andshape comprising a piece of hexagonal mesh wire having a plurality ofrows of entwined wire portions, the entwined wire portions in each rowbeing staggered with respect to the entwined portions of adjacent rowsand interconnected therewith by diagonally extending wire portions, thepiece being shaped in the form of a tube having the end portions archedinwardly toward the axis of the tube to substantially close the endsthereof and define a hollow mesh body, the body having one of said rowsof entwined Wire portions adjacent each end and the entwined portions inthe end rows extending generally radially inwardly toward the axis ofthe body, said piece being formed of a deformable wire which can bereadily bent by hand and having the side edges thereof secured together,and an annular member secured to the inwardly extending end portions ateach end.

of the body and having a diameter which is small as compared to that ofthe body to define a central openingv and to prevent distention of theends of the body when the central portion is radially expanded orcontracted for fitting into a vessel.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said annular member comprises aneyelet grommet and washer assembly, the ends of the entwined portions atthe ends of the body being interposed between the washer and grommet tobe protectively encased thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

